Art Rock? Weekend

As a part of Art Rock Summer, KC Wei’s art rock? is back! In 2019, art rock? no. 31 Finale at Robson Square saw the end to Wei’s monthly concert series that ran primarily at the Astoria Pub from 2015–2019. In those four years, art rock? was a space for the #popularesoteric to emerge from the intersections of art and music, culminating in the outdoor concert nestled between the Vancouver Art Gallery and the Vancouver Law Courts with support by the City of Vancouver — a timely call to end the underground series. Wei’s subsequent film, art rock? The Popular Esoteric (2019) documents performers and performance venues during the post-Olympic period of increasing gentrification and displacement of DIY cultural spaces, celebrating the ongoing practices of artists and musicians who continue to grind. art rock?’s premiere at Emily Carr University welcomes old pals and new collaborators, to resurrect the series in its 33rd and 33⅓ iterations.

Program Curator KC Wei is an interdisciplinary artist, musician, and writer based in Vancouver, BC, on the unceded Musqueam, Squamish, and Tsleil-Waututh territories. She is a PhD candidate in Contemporary Arts at Simon Fraser University, where her practice-based research in film-making, writing, and performance is informed by participatory activities such as editing, publishing, and programming. Recent works include the book Tuning to Oblivion: an artist residency (M:ST Performative Art, 2023), and the album Stimuloso (Mint Records, 2022) with her band, Kamikaze Nurse. She is the co-founder and editor of ReIssue magazine and Short Forum Programmer at the Vancouver International Film Festival.

Art Rock 33
Strawberry, House Wind and Arti Arti Arti
Libby Leshgold Gallery, Emily Carr University of Art + Design
Friday July 7, 6pm

Art Rock 33 ⅓
Kamikaze Nurse, Puzzlehead, TJ Felix and the Fiddleheads and YEP
ECUAD Cafeteria Patio
Saturday July 8, 2-6pm

ArtiArtiArti (Arti Struyanskiy) is an electronic and dance music project rooted in everything that loops, feedbacks and reverberates.

House Wind (Matthew Budden) originated in early 2018 through an invitation by Agonyklub to contribute to AK05. Using tangible analog tools like plastic strips and paper clips to treat the guitar’s sonic palette, these preparations change the instrument’s behavior, perpetually refreshing the dialogue between the artist and his materials.

Strawberry is a music project by Barry Doupé and Dennis Ha. It has performed at various artist initiated events throughout Vancouver, such as the live music series art rock?, Artspeak Radio Digest, and at the Or Gallery fundraiser. Each of the performances is unique and the duo has invited collaborators to join, including artist Arvo Leo and art historian Marie-France Berard.

KC Wei, John Brennan, Ethan Reyes, and Sonya Eui make up Kamikaze Nurse. They have released two full-length records, Bucky Fleur (2019, Agonyklub), and Stimuloso (2022, Mint Records). Named after Simone Weil’s humanitarian death wish, their music manifests otherly imagery and memories via shoegazey rock music. They are currently working on an interactive web-game, and a third album.

Puzzlehead is an amorphous rock cosplay led by Katayoon Yousefbigloo. Masking poetic sincerity under layers of guitar wank, Puzzlehead is guaranteed to get you hard (metaphorically speaking).

TJ Felix is a two-spirit Qelmucw from the Splatsin region of Secwepemculecw as well as a musician, multidisciplinary artist, colonial law breaker, drug user rights advocate & english language unlerner amongst many other things. They are currently missing home and paying absurdly high rent on the stolen lands of the Squamish, Musqueam, and Tsleil-Waututh peoples.

TJ will be joined on stage by three local renegade superstars known here on Earth as Matthew Aramis (guitar, saxophone, backing vox), Juniper Lee (drums, backing vox) and Phoenix Robson (bass, backing vox) and their band is called The Fiddleheads.

Yep is a synth-led prog rock power trio made up of long-time friends Madison Mayhew, Gil Goletski, and Craig Stensrud. Their new single, “Reprimand,” will be released this summer – an eight-minute epic about shame in all its psychic and spiritual manifestations, inspired by imagery from a 1980s Scientology manual.